Speculation heightened last week over Sen. Jeff Merkley’s coming decision to seek reelection or not next year. This latest ripple in the water was an announcement from the senator’s state director, Jessica Stevens, that she would be moving on after having served for more than twelve years.
“After 12.5 incredible years the time has come for me to begin a new chapter. It is truly bittersweet to say goodbye to a role, a mission, and, most importantly, a team that has meant so much to me,” Stevens wrote in the email to her colleagues.
Anyhow, Merkley’s office says he’ll be announcing a decision sometime this quarter, and to not read into Stevens moving on. Sen. Ron Wyden has already announced he will be seeking reelection in 2028. We’re imagining it’s a safe bet that Rep. Val Hoyle will also seek reelection next year.
Beyond all the palace non-intrigue, and we assume more importantly, here’s what your congressional trio has been doing and saying of late.
From Hoyle…
On Tuesday, Hoyle burned off a “statement” regarding the first 100 days of President Trump’s administration. The tone was measured, but you can still hear some screed in it…
“As we look back on the first 100 days of President Trump’s administration, it’s clear that working people are still being left behind. Despite promises to bring back jobs, lower costs, and improve workers’ lives, we’ve seen attacks on the Constitution, gutting of public services, and higher prices for everyday Americans. We need a government that abides by the law and stands with working families – not just the wealthy.
Our communities depend on good jobs, affordable healthcare, and fair wages. Instead of addressing these basic needs, this administration has weakened workers’ rights and prioritized tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. We’ve seen blatant union-busting and attacks on our Constitutionally protected rights to free speech and due process.
The next 100 days must put the best interest of the American people first. We need investments in infrastructure, protections and opportunities for workers, and real solutions to the challenges we face. I’ll continue to fight for a future where every American has a fair shot at a better life and every voice is heard loud and clear.”
We’re not that fluent in congress-human, but we’ll try to translate: This sucks, stay loud, and we’ll keep trying.
Wyden’s week…
Should killers run free: Yesterday, Wyden asked the Trump administration to provide an update on the State Department’s implementation of the Fallon Smart Policy. The policy was named after a teen that was killed by someone that then fled the country.
The policy requires the State Department to identify and revoke visas of any foreign official helping foreign criminal suspects evade prosecution by absconding from the United States.
The policy secured by Wyden two years ago takes its name from a 15-year-old Portland girl struck and killed by a speeding car while riding her bicycle in 2016. The driver accused in her hit-and-run death on Portland’s Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard was a Saudi national who The Oregonian reported fled the country before trial – ultimate resurfacing in Saudi Arabia — with the likely assistance of the Saudi government.
“The Fallon Smart Policy sends a strong message that there is no place in our country for foreign officials helping criminal suspects evade the law,” Wyden wrote Secretary of State Marco Rubio in today’s letter. “As I promised the family of Fallon Smart, I will birddog the implementation of this policy and make sure the Fallon Smart Policy is applied whenever there is evidence of foreign officials undermining the American justice system. I will not be silent when Saudi Arabia tries to cleanse its blood-stained hands, nor will I cease to hold Saudi officials accountable for the death of Fallon Smart and others like hers. To that end, I ask you to provide me with details about the implementation of the policy.”
Wyden has long worked since 2018 to expose a pattern of Saudi nationals committing violent crimes in the United States and evading U.S. justice with help from the Saudi government.
“In most of these cases, local law enforcement confiscated the passports of the accused criminals and set bail at thresholds the individuals were unlikely to pay themselves,” Wyden wrote, noting passage of his bill in 2019 to declassify an FBI report on Saudi assistance of fugitives that concluded the Saudis wouldn’t stop until the United States addresses Saudi Arabia about its lawlessness. “Yet, many of these individuals somehow made bail and quickly received the resources and travel documents necessary to board a plane and leave our country, only to resurface in Saudi Arabia later.
Wyden also noted he traveled last month to Saudi Arabia to raise these issues directly with Saudi government officials, and urging those Saudi officials to return to the United States all Saudi nationals accused of crimes so they may stand trial.
“I ask that you pursue this issue with the highest levels of leadership within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and formally press for the return of all Saudi nationals who evaded justice,” Wyden wrote. “Finally, I ask that you promptly declassify and make public any information about foreign officials engaging in the practice of helping foreign criminal suspects evade the U.S. justice system. As the declassification of the 2019 FBI report demonstrated, transparency is necessary if local judicial and law enforcement officials are to be notified of the threat and if the U.S. Government, in coordination with Congress, are to develop and implement policies to protect Americans and the rule of law.
In a second Wyden letter, Wyden wrote President Trump to urge a full reset of the U.S.-Saudi Arabia relationship to protect the American people and safeguard U.S. interests.
In that letter, Wyden again cited the Fallon Smart Policy as well as the role of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud and Saudi government officials in the brutal slaying of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi along with the surveillance, detention, torture and killing of dissidents, journalists, women’s rights activists and foreign laborers.
“I understand that you are planning a visit to Saudi Arabia, and I urge you to seek accountability for Saudi abuses against our country, including its punitive economic actions that have undermined U.S. interests,” Wyden wrote Trump. “You must push for Saudi recognition of these actions. You must also seek retribution for these actions and refrain from handing out favors to the Saudis until they follow through with meaningful reform.”
The entire letter to Trump is here. The entire letter to Rubio is here.
Bipartisan housing love: Last Wednesday, Wyden, joined Senate colleagues in reintroducing a bipartisan bill that would expand the existing, successful Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and increase the supply of affordable housing units in Oregon and nationwide.
“It’s time for Congress to meet the housing crisis with the bold solutions it demands and that starts with increasing housing supply,” said Wyden, Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee. “Our bill will deliver some much-needed relief to families by supporting existing, successful federal housing programs and building over one million new units of affordable housing. I am all in to bring down costs and make housing more affordable for everyone no matter your zip code.”
Since 1986, the Housing Credit has paid for 90% of the federally-funded affordable housing construction across the country, and has financed 4 million affordable homes. The National Association of Homebuilders reports that building materials have increased in cost by an average of 5.5% due to enacted or anticipated tariffs since January 2025, underscoring the urgent need for this legislation. Moreover, according to the association, 60% of builders reported that as a result of tariffs, their suppliers have already increased or announced increases of material prices – with tariffs increasing the cost of a typical home by $10,900.
The Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act would support the financing of new affordable homes by:
- Increasing the amount of credits allocated to each state. The legislation would increase the number of credits available to states by 50 percent for the next two years and make permanent the temporary 12.5 percent increase secured in 2018 —which has already helped build more than 59,000 additional affordable housing units nationwide.
- Increasing the number of affordable housing projects that can be built using private activity bonds. This provision would stabilize financing for workforce housing projects built using private activity bonds by decreasing the amount of private activity bonds needed to secure the Housing Credit. As a result, projects would have to carry less debt, and more projects would be eligible to receive the credit.
- Improving the Housing Credit program to better serve at-risk and underserved communities. The legislation would also make improvements to better serve veterans, victims of domestic violence, formerly homeless students, Native American communities, and rural Americans.
In 2023, Wyden introduced his comprehensive Decent, Affordable, Safe Housing for All (DASH) Act, which would expand essential services to ensure permanent housing stability, create a new down payment tax credit for first-time homebuyers, and expand the production of affordable housing for low-income and middle-income families.
In addition to Wyden, the bill was co-led by Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., Todd Young, R-Ind., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn. It has 30 total original cosponsors, with an equal split of Democrats and Republicans.
Gun sale safety misfire: Last Tuesday, Wyden called on the Commerce Department to establish clear guidelines to prevent the illegal diversion of American-made firearms sold abroad.
Wyden’s letter to Commerce Department Secretary Howard Lutnick follows recent reports indicating that staffing shortages at the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), a subagency of Commerce, have hampered its ability to effectively vet foreign companies purchasing U.S.-made firearms and prevent them from diverting these weapons to terrorists or other criminals.
“End-use checks, which require on-location verification of importers’ bona fides, are the cornerstone of an effective export control policy and are paramount to ensure end user compliance with approved license agreements and to verify that controlled dual-use items like firearms are not being illicitly diverted or re-exported to bad actors,” Wyden stated in his letter to Secretary Lutnick.
These staffing shortages have also led BIS to rely in some cases on the International Trade Administration (ITA) – whose primary responsibility is to promote and facilitate U.S. commercial interests abroad – to carry out on-site inspections known as “end-use checks,” which are meant to ensure that purchasers are not merely operating as fronts to funnel American-made firearms to criminal organizations. However, in some cases, ITA staff who conducted end-use checks also recruited foreign businesses to attend a firearms trade show, posing a clear conflict of interest.
“An official charged with national security responsibilities over certain firearms cannot and should not be the same official charged with selling the same firearms,” Wyden emphasized, raising further concerns about ITA’s serious conflict of interest in playing two very different roles at once. ITA officials may also lack the requisite training, knowledge, and investigative experience to vet foreign actors purchasing American firearms.
To prevent conflicts of interest and strengthen oversight to ensure American firearms exported abroad do not end up in the hands of foreign terrorist organizations or other bad actors, Wyden requested Secretary Lutnick create clear intra-agency guidelines and respond to the following questions:
- Is BIS planning on establishing an Export Control Officer position for either the Western Hemisphere or Africa?
- Will the Commerce Department commit to requiring BIS and ITA to develop guidance, including standard operating procedures for ITA FCS officers who are conducting end-use checks?
- Does ITA have a policy on allowing locally employed staff to conduct end-use monitoring?
- What training do ITA FCS officers currently receive regarding end-use monitoring and Export Administration Regulations?
- How many end-use checks for firearms or related items such as ammunition and optical devices have been conducted by ITA FCS officers in the last five calendar years? How many of these checks resulted in the denial of exports?
- How many firearms export licenses have been approved by BIS since February 1, 2025?
The text of the letter is here.
Merkley’s week…
Corruption called out politely: Yesterday, in response to recent reports surrounding a billion-dollar business deal with a Trump-backed cryptocurrency company and foreign crypto firm, Merkley and Massachusetts’ U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren demanded answers from the Trump Administration about the ethics and national security implications of the reported deal.
The Senators stressed the potential for this deal— involving the state-backed Emirati investment firm MGX, crypto exchange Binance, and World Liberty Financial (WLF)—to enrich President Trump and his family, as well as the family of Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, with the potential for them to receive hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign kickbacks.
Merkley and Warren wrote in their letter to Office of Government Ethics Acting Director Jamieson Greer, “In short, a crypto firm whose founder needs a pardon and a foreign government spymaker coveting sensitive U.S. technology plan to pay the Trump and Witkoff families hundreds of millions of dollars. The opportunities for grift – in which the Trump Administration offers favors to the UAE or to Binance in exchange for their massive payouts – are mind-boggling.”
“The reported deal also raises significant legal concerns,” the Senators cautioned. “Because MGX is so closely associated with the UAE’s government, payments made to WLF, which itself has connections to President Trump and his family, may violate the Emoluments Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The deal may also violate federal ethics statutes, including criminal provisions barring bribery. This deal raises the troubling prospect that the Trump and Witkoff families could expand the use of their stablecoin as an avenue to profit from foreign corruption. As Mr. Witkoff’s son said while celebrating the announcement: ‘It’s only the beginning.’”
Merkley and Warren warned that the deal may violate the Constitution, while making the federal government highly vulnerable to foreign influence and increasing the potential for a quid pro quo that could endanger national security. Given that President Trump’s personal cryptocurrency ventures pose a dangerous conflict of interest and invites corruption at the highest levels of government, the Senators demanded pressing answers from the Office of Government Ethics by May 9, 2025.
Full text of the letter can be found by clicking here and you really SHOULD read it. Like, really-really should.
Bipartisan nurse support: Last Friday, Merkley and U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss. introduced the Nurse Corps Tax Parity Act. This legislation would ensure that nurses in the federal Nurse Corps do not need to pay income tax on their student loan repayments and scholarships.
Merkley and Wicker are Co-Chairs of the Senate Nursing Caucus.
“As the husband of a nurse, I know frontline nurses are the backbone of our communities, helping patients and families through both joyous and challenging times,” said Merkley. “Nurse Corps members build healthier communities in the areas of greatest need, but these heroes are unfairly taxed in ways other health professionals are not. The bipartisan Nurse Corps Tax Parity Act ends this unjust disparity and ensures nurses receive the fair treatment they deserve.”
“Nurses are essential to the U.S. health care system,” said Wicker. “The nationwide shortage of nurses has made clear just how vital having skilled and hardworking health care professionals is to keeping our country running, especially in rural Mississippi. The Nurse Corps Tax Parity Act would expand opportunity and affordability for America’s future nurses by removing the tax for Nurse Corps student loan repayments.”
“Every nurse who chooses to serve in an underserved community is making a powerful commitment—to patients, to equity, and to the future of health care. The reintroduction of the Nurse Corps Tax Parity Act is a meaningful step toward recognizing that commitment,” said Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, PhD, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, President, American Nurses Association.
“As we strive to address our nation’s healthcare needs, particularly in critical shortage facilities, health professional shortage areas, and medically underserved regions, supporting the nursing workforce is essential,” said Dr. Deborah Trautman, President and CEO of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. “This bipartisan legislation is a strong step forward and underscores the value the Nurse Corps has on meeting patient needs across the country.”
The National Health Service Corps (NHSC) and the Nurse Corps are programs administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) aimed at delivering critical health care services in underserved areas. Both corps programs offer scholarships and loan repayment for health care providers in exchange for service in these areas. Though the NHSC and Nurse Corps tout similar missions and programming offerings, NHSC scholarships and loan repayment programs are not subject to federal income tax, while those from Nurse Corps are.
Click here to view the full text of the legislation.
Ending pennies bipartisanly: Merkley and Utah’s Republican Senator Mike Lee introduced bipartisan legislation last Thursday that would end production of the penny – but keep the current supply in circulation.
Striking the penny has become increasingly costly, and the Make Sense Not Cents Act would permanently eliminate spending for its production. Each penny costs nearly 4 cents to make—a number that has risen more than 20 percent year-over-year due to the rising costs of materials – ending production of the penny could save the United States over $85 million annually.
“It’s the opposite of ‘common cents’ for taxpayers’ dollars to fund wasteful spending like producing pennies,” said Merkley. “The Make Sense Not Cents Act will save taxpayers millions—and that is something that both Democrats and Republicans support to seriously take on government waste.”
“Minting pennies costs the American taxpayer millions every year – nearly four times more than the pennies are worth,” said Lee. “No private business would produce something at a 4x loss. It’s time to stop wasting Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars making overpriced pennies.”
Nearly two-thirds of pennies produced in the U.S. do not ever recirculate, meaning billions of pennies are buried in couch cushions, or simply lost, never to be used in transactions again. Further, in an era of online and digital banking, only 16 percent of transactions are made with cash.
For decades, both Republicans and Democrats alike have called to end the penny’s production, including President Trump and former President Obama who said, “anytime we’re spending more money on something that people don’t actually use, that’s an example of something we should probably change.”
Full text of the Make Sense Not Cents Act can be found by clicking here.
LGBTQ+ rights: Last Tuesday, Merkley and Congressional Equality Caucus Chair Rep. Mark Takano (CA-39) teamed up with Wisconsin’s U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin and New Jersey’s U.S. Senator Cory Booker for the bicameral reintroduction of the Equality Act in an effort to push back against escalated attacks from the Trump Administration, MAGA Republicans, and state legislatures on the rights and freedoms of LGBTQ+ Americans nationwide.
In states across the country, over 850 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been filed so far this year—the most in U.S. history. The Equality Act is historic, comprehensive legislation to enshrine civil rights protections for our LGBTQ+ friends and neighbors in federal law.
The Equality Act amends landmark federal anti-discrimination laws to explicitly add sexual orientation and gender identity to longstanding bans on discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, jury service, access to credit, federal funding, and more. It would also add protections against sex discrimination in parts of anti-discrimination laws where these protections had not been included previously, such as public accommodations and federal funding.
“Generations of Americans have marched, voted, organized, and raised their voices to fully realize the vision of America as a land of freedom and equality for all,” said Merkley. “As MAGA extremists attack the rights and freedoms of our LGBTQ+ friends and neighbors, I am fighting to end this hateful discrimination, expand freedom, and open the doors of opportunity for everyone. Back in 2007, I led the fight to secure this vision for Oregonians, and it is way past time for Congress to do the same for all LGBTQ+ Americans by passing my Equality Act.”
“Across the country, LGBTQI+ and trans Americans are being targeted and attacked, but we refuse to be cowed or intimidated by their hate. Instead, we reintroduce the Equality Act as our declaration that freedom and dignity are the birthright of every American. We will not rest until full equality is the law of the land,” said Congressional Equality Caucus Chair Takano.
Despite major advances in equality for LGBTQ+ Americans in recent years, including codifying federal protections for same-sex and interracial marriages, the majority of states still do not have explicit LGBTQ+ non-discrimination protection laws. The Equality Act would finally enshrine protections into federal law under all areas of potential discrimination, protecting the rights and freedoms of all LGBTQ+ Americans for generations to come.
“The Equality Act is necessary, urgent, and long overdue,” said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). “As the Trump administration and dangerously conservative Supreme Court threaten the safety and security of LGBTQ+ individuals in the United States, it is the obligation of the Senate to ensure that everyone is treated equally under the law – a standard that the United States has long strived for but failed to perfectly meet. I am honored to help lead the reintroduction of the Equality Act and stand with the LGBTQ+ community as we continue to fight for a more equal, just, and loving world.”
“Across the country, from city councils to Congress, state legislatures to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, freedom is under attack. The Equality Act will make sure that members of the LGBTQ community can live free from discrimination and pursue the American dream in every single zip code. House Democrats will continue to show up, speak up and stand up until this legislation is the law of the land,” said House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY).
The Equality Act is supported by 47 U.S. Senators and 214 U.S. Representatives. A full list of the 600+ organizations endorsing the Equality Act can be found by clicking here.
“In Oregon we are lucky to have state protections that prohibit discrimination based on sexual or gender identity. But those protections are feeling pretty shaking these days, considering the series of Executive Orders following inauguration day. There has not been a more critical time to protect the most marginalized within our communities. Without federal protections, states with progressive and inclusive discrimination policies are at risk of losing them. Thank you to Senator Merkley for taking a stand for our communities,” said Kyndall Mason, Executive Director of Basic Rights Oregon.
Stories in support of the Equality Act and the protections it would enshrine into federal law can be found by clicking here.
Full text of the Equality Act as introduced in the Senate can be found by clicking here, and here as introduced in the House.
A summary of the Equality Act can be found by clicking here.
A reminder of the times and stakes…
Disappearing people and moral constitutions: Last Monday, Wyden and Merkley demanded Donald Trump immediately rescind the dangerous and offensive claim that he may transfer incarcerated U.S. citizens to El Salvador.
In a letter to Trump, the senators also urged him to follow the law and adhere to all applicable court orders to immediately facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the United States. The senators underscore how these unprecedented actions threaten the constitutional protections of all Americans and violate the fundamental principles on which this nation was founded, noting Trump’s flagrant disregard of a Supreme Court order to rightfully return Abrego Garcia and “ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador.”
“With regard to your shocking assertion about transferring Americans to El Salvador, you cannot deport Americans to a foreign country for any reason. This nation’s founding fathers declared independence based on ‘repeated injuries and usurpations’ by the then-King of Great Britain, including ‘transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences’ and ‘depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury.’ Accordingly, Congress has passed no provision into law that would permit exiling United States citizens to a foreign country for any reason. One conservative legal scholar called your threats to deport U.S. citizens ‘obviously illegal and unconstitutional,’” the lawmakers wrote.
“Our laws also do not allow you to send individuals from U.S. soil to El Salvador without due process. Further, the Executive Branch must comply with longstanding domestic and international law that prohibits the United States from transferring any person from our jurisdiction or effective control to a place where the person would face certain serious human rights violations. Your Administration’s actions in sending individuals to a Salvadoran prison notorious for inhumane conditions underscore the urgency and applicability of these requirements. The bedrock principles of the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause protect individuals from being “deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law,’” the lawmakers continued.
“You must immediately facilitate the return of Mr. Abrego Garcia, which is unquestionably within your power to do since your Administration is paying the government of El Salvador to detain him… You must also end your unlawful attempts to deport noncitizens without due process under the Alien Enemies Act, as the Supreme Court ordered this weekend. You have no authority to openly defy court orders requiring you: (1) to return someone who has been wrongfully deported, or (2) to grant individuals the due process they are owed under our laws… You must immediately facilitate the return to the United States of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, follow all court orders, and withdraw your dangerous and offensive claims that you may transfer U.S. citizens to a foreign prison. The Constitution demands it,” the lawmakers concluded.
Full text of the letter is here, it’s been signed by a slew of Democrats. As to any signatories from the party-folk that gave away pocket-sized U.S. Constitutions as party favors back in the nineties and aughts, well… As to our take, we think you can guess that too.
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